One Night
by xmxsummer
Summary: One night can change your life. GeraldxHelga
1. Prologue

**A/N: So I've been toying with this idea for a while and I think I finally found a way to make it work! Enjoy ^^**

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**Six Years Ago**

Helga stared in to the half empty cup of beer before downing it. If Phoebe had come she would tell her she was three sheets to the wind and needed to let her take her home. Phoebe wasn't here though. She had left for college earlier this year…early graduation. Her dark brown eyes lazily surveyed the scene in front of her. This was a graduation party. They had all actually graduated yesterday, they were officially in the adult world now. Helga had plans to go to the community college to work on her writing and possibly a teaching degree.

Arnold had told her she would make a good teacher –to which Helga laughed and said he was crazy, then kissed him. She closed her eyes. Arnold. They had broken up two weeks ago because he "still loved Lila and feel that I'm treating you unfairly, not giving you the attention you deserve." Helga hadn't said a word, what was she supposed to say? That he could take his break up and shove it? She scoffed. It would have been nice if he had said that when she finally got up the courage to ask him out for real.

Helga's eyes flew open as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Traveling upward she discovered that the owner of the hand was none other than Gerald Johanssen- looking equally hammered. They didn't talk much – even when he was dating Phoebe briefly or when she and Arnold were together. Just thinking that Football Head's name made her angry and upset; she shrugged off his shoulder. "Whadda you want?" She slurred, eying him.

"Let's go somewhere more private." His voice was low, though he sounded as drunk as she did. She wondered what put him in the mood to drink. Over the years Helga had noticed that Gerald usually held back from drinking too much. His offer was…enticing. How would it make Arnold feel to know that she slept with his best friend without a care in the world?

Helga took his hand without a word, setting her empty cup some sort of end table before leading upstairs. Rhonda's house had so many rooms that Helga had given up trying to count them all years ago. However she did know there were five bedrooms upstairs and currently only one other one is use.

Gerald closed the door behind them and Helga led him over to the bed.


	2. Present Day

**Present Day**

"Jacob! We're going to be late!" Helga called upstairs. Her blonde hair was up in a ponytail and she was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a pink tank top. "Do you want to be late?" She called again as she heard a patter of tiny feet running down the steps.

"Coming, mommy!" The little boy called back as he skidded to a stop in front of the door with a grin. He was the color of a very light coco with dark brown eyes and spiked black hair. _He looks so much like Gerald_. The thought caught Helga off guard. She hadn't really thought about him in a long time, hell Gerald didn't even know he was a father.

"Let's see." Helga kneeled down in front of him and smiled. He was wearing a Superman t-shirt and jean shorts with black sneakers and had a Superman backpack. All set for his first day of first grade. "You look great little man." She kissed his cheek and stood again. Soon he was settled in to the car and Helga started towards the school.

They had moved to this area over the summer. It had been hard to finish off her two year degree with having to take care of Jacob but she had no regrets. They had gotten through it- admittedly Helga had confessed to Phoebe what happened after swearing her to secrecy and her best friend did help out a bit when she had breaks from school.

Helga had taken an at home columnist job, the central office was in this city and she would have to come in a couple times a month just to review different things. The change would be good though for the both of them.

Once they got to the school Helga walked him in to the school and after asking him for the fifth time if he was sure that he was okay here outside his classroom with the other children she left, headed back home to get to work on her column and try to unpack some more.

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Gerald never imagined he would end up teaching, much less teaching primary school. He had gone off to California to go to business school and had happened to get stuck with child development as an elective. Needless to say Gerald found he actually enjoyed being around kids and teaching and they weren't nearly as annoying as he thought they would be.

So Gerald found himself somewhere in the middle- between Cali and New York- teaching first grade at a small school in a nice town. The first bell rang and the children were all settled in their assigned seats. He introduced himself and then explained that when he said their names they would stand up and say one thing about themselves.

"Hi, my name is Joy. I like cats!"

"My name is Robbie and I have two sisters."

"My name is Jacob and I love Superman."

Gerald watched as the boy, Jacob, sat down and smiled. "Heather?" He called out next, but his thoughts went back to the boy. He looked strangely familiar. His eyes drifted back down to his role call. He had only been paying attention to first names but now he looked to the last names. Jacob Pataki. Pataki! Gerald's eyes went wide but then he shook his head a bit. Nah, not a chance. Helga was white as snow…and she would never have kids. She had said it a thousand times when they were in school.

Sometimes Gerald wondered what happened to her, how she was doing, but they were just fleeting thoughts. At the end of the day, Gerald was standing outside the school entrance with some other teachers for the Parent Pick-Up. Jacob was one of the kids and he was subconsciously hoping to get a glimpse of whoever picked him up.

A light blue van pulled up and Jacob stood up. "Bye Mr. J!" He called and hurried over to the van-excited to tell his mother about his day and his new teacher.

Gerald gave a wave and looked to the windshield, but it was hard to tell- the windows were tinted and the driver was wearing sunglasses- but it was definitely a woman.

Inside the car, Helga had spotted Gerald as soon as Jacob opened the door and she nearly went pale. He hadn't seen her though- or at least hadn't noticed her. What was he doing here?! He looked like he worked there though. She shook it off and started driving after Jacob was buckled in, smiling slightly and asking him how his day went…but she was distracted, racking her brain, trying to figure out how Gerald ended up working at a primary school. _This _primary school of all places!


	3. Conference

**A/N: Wow! So much positive feedback! I'm glad everyone has liked it so far!**

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It's true, that Helga had always said she would never have children. Honestly, while she was pregnant she had doubts about keeping the baby but in the end her conscience wouldn't let her give him or her away to someone else and her morals didn't even let her think about abortion. Whatever drove her to go through with it all though, Helga was glad for it. Jacob had changed her for the better.

She had her stories of women who kept babies they didn't really want and all the child did was remind them of whatever events took place or whomever the father was. Jacob wasn't like that though. She didn't think of Gerald every time she tucked her little man. No terrible memories came to her mind…then again that night hadn't been terrible at all.

Still, maybe Helga should have told Gerald what had happened. He had left for college a week later and it was soon after that when she found out she was a mother to be. How would he have reacted? Would he have even cared? Well, of course he would have- Gerald wasn't a jerk.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Jacob rushed in to the kitchen where Helga was working on an article. He had taken the bus home today because Helga was still shaken up about seeing Gerald working at his school…being his own son's teacher.

She looked over at him startled. "What's wrong sweetie?"

"Nothing mommy. Look!" He dug through his backpack to show her a picture he had drawn today of their house and it had a big red A in the corner. "I drawed it today for school."

"It's beautiful baby." Helga smiled and hugged him and took the picture. "It'll go right on the fridge."

"Okay! Oh and…uhm…" He dug through the backpack again. "Here!" He gave her a slightly crumpled envelope before taking back the picture to stick on the fridge.

Helga eyed the envelope a moment and then took out the letter, quickly scanning it. Oh no. Gerald wanted her to go in for a conference. Just a routine meeting, yeah sure it was. She sighed inwardly. Next week…that was approaching much too fast.

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**Two Weeks Later**

Helga had managed to put off the conference last week with some excuse but now she had no choice. Jacob wanted to her to go, to meet 'Mr. J'. It was a good sign that Jacob liked him though, right? Wouldn't it be awkward to find out you didn't like your own father?

_Maybe not that awkward_. Helga thought idly as she shut off the car. After all, she didn't like her father…or her mother. She had promised herself that she would never be like them. She would be the best mother a boy could ask for.

"Come _onnn_ mommy!" Jacob was already opening the car door. Of course he had tagged along because she wasn't going to leave him alone and she hadn't met any real friends yet that she could ask to baby sit.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." She laughed softly and looked in to the rearview mirror one last time. Her hair was down at her shoulders, just a touch of eye shadow and lipstick. Well, here went nothing.

Helga let Jacob lead her to the classroom and she could feel her heart racing, trying desperately to calm it down without alerting Jacob that something was wrong. Jacob opened the door up and they both stepped inside. Gerald was sitting at his desk, grading papers it looked like.

Gerald looked up when they walked in and smiled, though his eyes stayed on Helga for a moment. Of course he recognized her as quickly as she had recognized him. "It's been a long time Helga." He went over and Jacob watched them.

"You know Mr. J?" He was looking up at Helga.

"I do sweetie. From a very long time ago." She looked around, spotting a little play area. "Why don't you go play over there while Mr. J and I talk."

"Okay!" Jacob grinned and went over to the toys as Gerald led her over to a small table.

It was somewhat comical, the two grown people sitting at such a small table. At least the chairs weren't too awkward. "I never pegged you for the mothering type."

"I never pegged you for the teaching type." Helga smiled wryly. "What are you even doing here?" Her voice was kept somewhat low so Jacob couldn't listen.

"Long story short…I stumbled upon my love of teaching completely by accident. After I graduated, I saw an opening at this school and I took it. How about you? It's a far way from Hillwood."

"Columnist job…and this town is better for Jacob." Helga and Gerald both glanced over to him before looking back at each other.

"He's a good kid, you're doing a good job." He looked to her hands. No ring. "Where's the father?"

Helga seemed to pale again but quickly recovered. "That's absolutely none of your business." She hissed, when in reality it was completely his business because.

"Sorry, sorry. You're right. It's just, I don't know."

Helga held back another sharp remark. She had to stop over reacting or he might think something was up. "It's okay. So, was this whole 'conference' a ploy just to see me?"

"Well I wasn't sure it _was_ you…it was more a ruse to settle that. Now that I know it is you though, well it's nice to know there's someone familiar in this town."

"Tomorrow I go to the newspaper to meet my co-workers but other than that I haven't met anyone yet."

"It takes some time…you know, maybe we could have coffee or dinner some day."

Helga's refusal was on the tip of her tongue. _Maybe this would be better though. Maybe if we got closer…maybe I could confess to him the truth. Maybe…_ "Sure Gerald. That would be great."


	4. Just Lunches

**A/N: I'm super glad everyone is enjoying the story so far! Enjoy this chapter :)**

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Gerald was sitting at home in his bedroom. Papers were scattered on one side of the desk and half-written lesson plans were typed up on the computer. He was lost in thought. It had been an interesting month and, he glanced to the calendar that hung on the wall above the desk, he and Helga were going to be having another lunch soon. A smile formed on his lips as he thought of the lunch they'd had a few weeks ago.

It had been a Saturday and Jacob was with them. That didn't bother Gerald any, he enjoyed having the boy around. Jacob was one of his most well-behaved students. It was hard to believe sometimes that he was Helga's son. They'd gone to a little diner in town and most of it was spent telling Jacob stories about living in Hillwood. The little boy seemed delighted to be learning more about his mom and his 'favorite teacher'.

Gerald shook his head and blinked a bit. It was weird in a way, having Helga back in his life. Was that even the right term? They hadn't been that good of friends in schools. Their most intimate moment had been at that party. Gerald wouldn't outright admit it, but he remembered that night fairly well after he'd sobered up the next day. He remembered that it had been very good.

Helga had left before he'd gotten up and though he had tried to casually keep an eye out for her before he left for California- he never did see her again. Gerald's thoughts drifted back to Jacob. The boy was six, almost seven. He was obviously the product of a relationship that didn't last because Helga didn't wear a ring and she had been quick to reprimand him for even asking about the boy's father.

Still…it had to have been shortly after graduation. Gerald's eyes went wide a moment and then he shook his head. No…no. She would have told him something like that right? Besides, it could have easily been someone she hooked up with at college. He frowned a bit as he resumed his lesson plans.

He would have to watch Jacob a little more closely and try to get some more information out of Helga on their next date. Gerald laughed to himself. Date, yeah right. They weren't dates…

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"…They're just lunches Pheebs." Helga was saying as she closed a kitchen drawer. Jacob was upstairs playing and she was working on finishing up the instant mac and cheese to go with their hamburgers. "Besides, Jacob was with us."

"But is going to be at this next one? Helga." Phoebe paused. "You should try getting close to him. At least tell him the truth."

Helga groaned in to the phone. "I know I should. Things have been going so well though with just Jacob and I. What if…what if telling Gerald isn't the right thing to go?"

"Gerald is smart. You know he'll put two and two together eventually! Besides you said that Jacob already likes him a lot. I bet he'd be thrilled to know that Gerald is his dad."

"I guess…I'll think about it. I've gotta go, dinner's just about done. I'll call you soon."

"Sounds good! I might be flying out to New Mexico for a few days for a conference so if I don't answer at home you know to call my cell."

"Of course." Helga laughed. "See ya." She hung up the phone and then called Jacob down for dinner. Phoebe was right though, Helga knew that. She needed to tell Gerald because he _would_ figure it out. Knowing him it would probably be sooner rather than later.

Maybe at their next lunch she could try to gauge when a good time to have a real sit down with him would be.


	5. Let's Talk

Helga bit her lip lightly, looking in the bathroom mirror. After their last lunch, Helga was pretty sure that Gerald was suspicious of something. Helga had started making some friends around town and from work. She was comfortable enough to call up a babysitter that one of her co-workers suggested. The girl would be here any moment. Helga had suggested they do dinner instead of lunch this time. She was hoping that afterwards they could find somewhere quiet to talk.

Phoebe was right, Gerald couldn't find out first. Helga had to tell him before he put two and two together, and she could see that was going to happen soon. He had asked about college and teasingly asked about her love life, but Helga knew it wasn't just a joke. He was trying to find something out.

Helga was wearing a black dress that fell just below her knees with pink diagonal stripes and a matching hair-tie holding up her ponytail. Just a touch of makeup- Helga wasn't a fan of makeup usually. She found it felt very uncomfortable- especially lipstick. Still she would forgo it. Oddly enough, Helga found that she wanted to look nice for him.

The doorbell range and Helga slipped on her shoes and went downstairs where Jacob was watching a movie. He smiled at her when she came down and went over to her. "Look pretty mommy."

"Thanks baby." Helga smiled down at him and then opened the door. "Lisa, come on in." She said, closing the door behind the girl when she got in the house. "Jacob, meet Lisa. This is the girl I was telling you about, she's going to stay with you while Mommy's out."

"Hi Lisa." Jacob gave a little wave.

"Nice to meet you Jacob." Lisa smiled back and looked to Helga now. "He'll be in safe hands with me Ms. Pataki."

"Please dear, it's Helga. Ms. Pataki is much too formal. Now, I put some money on the counter to order pizza or something. The paper next to it has my cell number and my date's cell number too in case I don't answer for some reason." _My date.._Helga shook her head. This was not a date. Though Phoebe would say it was, especially because Gerald was picking her up.

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"You look nice tonight Helga." Gerald smiled as he helped her in to the car and then settled in himself before starting to drive."

"Oh, uh, thank you." Helga said, looking over to him, looking him over. He looked nice tonight too. Black pants with a red button down and a black tie and his shoes were shined. "So…how was your class today?"

That's how most of the conversation went on the way to the restaurant. The last two times they'd gone out were for lunch and Jacob was with them. So it was more like they were talking to each other by talking to him. Helga just hoped that things wouldn't end up being awkward. Then there was no way she could try to tell him the truth.

Thankfully, once they were settled in to the restaurant it did get easier. They stuck with talking about Hillwood, about the 'good old days'.

"Have you heard from Arnold?" Helga asked, mostly out of curiosity. She'd never quite forgiven that jerk for the way he just dropped her like a hot potato.

"I talk with him sometimes, yeah. Last I heard he and Lila were moving to England." Gerald rolled his eyes and Helga laughed.

"England? Really? What's all the way over there?" Of course he was still with Lila. Helga shook off the thought. She didn't feel like getting all angry over something that happened so long ago.

"Who the hell knows, but it far away and that's fine with me."

Helga looked surprised at Gerald's words. "What happened with you and him? You seem glad that he's gone."

Gerald watched her a moment and then shook his head. "Nothing I care to talk about tonight." He managed a smile. "How about you? Do you still keep in touch with Phoebe?"

Gerald and Phoebe had had a good relationship when they dates and when they broke up they were still on good terms. It was just for the best, they're goals were different and in the long run they knew they'd end up spending more time apart than together.

"Of course I do." Helga smiled, though she was going to find out about what happened with him and Arnold, she would make sure of it. "She's still my best friend. She's working at some high-tech firm, I think maybe something with nanobots? It's way over my head."

They both laughed; of course Phoebe would be doing something like that. It was fitting for her. The rest of the dinner passed well and once the check was paid – they did have a small argument about that, but Gerald said she could pay for it next time- they walked back out to the parkinglot.

"Hey…there's a park near here isn't there?"

"I think so, why?"

"Do you think we could go there before you take me home?"

Gerald looked at her curiously a moment but then offered a smile and a nod. "Sure thing." They got back in the car and drove for a bit before the park came in to view. Gerald pulled in and shut off the car, looking to Helga again.

Helga took a breath. "Let's…uh…take a walk…we have some more things we need to talk about."


	6. Confessions

**A/N: One of these days I'll have to go back and replace all those silly spelling mistakes I spotted -_-. Other than that, glad that you all are still enjoying the story!**

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Gerald raised an eyebrow; Helga was acting rather strange all of a sudden. "Are you okay Helga?"

"I…I'm fine." She got out of the car and took a deep breath. This was it, now or never. He was either going to accept it or hate her or maybe even both. She looked up as Gerald came over to her, concern in his eyes.

"What's going on?" He asked- his voice gentle. What could possibly have her so worked up like this?

Helga nodded and took his hand, starting to walk. Gerald was surprised by her action but he didn't say anything. Neither of them said a word for a long time it seemed like. They walked quietly, hand in hand, through the deserted park. Gerald figured that Helga would speak up soon enough. After all she was the one that said they had something to talk about.

"Listen, Gerald…" Helga's voice broke the silence and he looked over at her. "You…you might not like what I have to say, okay? It's important I tell you though, because...well because I should have told you earlier."

"Helga…" Gerald started. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it isn't that bad." He offered a smile.

Helga looked away. "But it is, it was an awful thing for me to do, but I thought it was the right thing." She stopped and looked up at him.

Gerald looked in to her eyes, frowning a moment. "Helga, talk to me. What is it?"

"Gerald…Jacob, he…well after you left for school I started getting sick. The doctor gave me a test…" Helga took a deep breath. "Jacob is your son. I know that it's sudden and that I should have told you when I found out, but I was scared and alone." _Alone except for Phoebe_. Helga thought. Helga moved out of the house when she was seventeen and in with Phoebe. She rarely spoke to her parents; they didn't even know that they were grandparents.

Gerald was silent for a long moment. He had known this, hadn't he? Hadn't he stared at Jacob and tried to question Helga to try and find out the truth. Still, to know that she had kept this from him, had felt that telling him wasn't the right thing to do…Gerald was at a loss for words. "Say something." Helga's voice was quiet. "Please."

"What do you want me to say, Helga? You're the mother of a son I didn't know I had. You kept him from me for this long and if it wasn't for the fact that I just happen to be teaching his class I never would have known!" Gerald's voice was a bit sharper than he'd meant it to be.

Helga winced a bit. "That's not true…when he was older I was going to tell him…maybe." She sighed. "I was only eighteen, Gerald. I didn't know what to do."

"You could have told me. I could have helped you." Gerald placed his hands on her upper arms looking in to her eyes. "I _would_ have helped you. I would have held off going to school, done whatever I could."

Helga felt tears threatening to come up because she knew it was true. Gerald was a good guy, and he loved his family and his friends. He wouldn't have let her go through it alone if he had known. Maybe they wouldn't have been in a real relationship, but he would have been there for her, for the both of them. Helga shut her eyes tightly, she didn't want to cry. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Her voice wavered slightly as she spoke.

Gerald sighed and wrapped her in a hug, resting his chin lightly on the top of her head. "So am I." He murmured. He wasn't too sure how to feel right now, especially because his suspicions were proved true. He was a father. Jacob obviously didn't know anything about who his father was. Helga must be good at deflecting questions like that if he ever asked them.

Helga leaned in to him to regain her composure, taking a deep breath. "Better late than never, right?" Helga mumbled.

Gerald laughed and nodded. "Better late than never." They would have to talk about this more, but it was getting late and it was a school night. "Come on, let me take you home." He led her back to the car and helped her get settled in. He had a lot to sort out in his head tonight and Gerald was pretty sure he wasn't going to get any sleep.


	7. Pizza and a Movie

**A/N: Thank you all for the positive feedback so far! This chapter is a short one, but the next one will be longer!  
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It was a Friday night and Helga had just hung up the phone when there was a knock at the door. "Got it!" Jacob called, and she went to the entry way to watch him and see who it was, though she already knew who would be on the other side. When he opened the door, Gerald was standing there, a bottle of soda in one hand and a bag with a carton of ice cream in the other.

He and Helga hadn't had much of a chance to talk anymore about the situation, so Helga had called him and suggested this. It would give them more time to talk, and more of an opportunity to spend time with Jacob if he wanted to. Well of course Gerald wanted that, so they set a day and here he was.

"Mr. J! What're you doing here?" Jacob asked as Gerald stepped inside.

"He's going to have pizza and watch a movie with us." Helga explained and Jacob grinned before running off to dig through the box of movies that Helga hadn't gotten around to unpacking quite yet.

"Hey." Gerald smiled to her before following her in to the kitchen

"Hey, you can set the soda on the counter. I'll put the ice cream in the freezer until later."

It was quiet between the pair for a moment, and then Gerald broke it. "Does Jacob know?" His voice was quiet. Helga closed the freezer and turned back to him.

"No, he doesn't. When the question comes up I've just told him that he's on a long trip." Helga smiled wryly. "He doesn't really ask anymore."

"Long trip, hm? I guess it's better than saying I'm flat out dead."

Helga gave a short laugh. "Well I didn't think that would be quite fair…and how confusing would it be if I told him you were dead all this time, but now you're right here?"

"I suppose-" Gerald started but was cut off by Jacob running in with two DVDs.

"These ones mommy?" Jacob held up the DVDs to her. 'A Bug's Life' and 'Wreck-It Ralph'.

"Sure honey. These ones are fine." Helga smiled. "Why don't you let Mr. J pick out the one we watch first."

Jacob turned to Gerald and held up the DVDs, looking at him expectantly. Gerald looked at the movies, debating a moment. "Let's watch A Bug's Life. Movies about bugs are always fun, right?"

Jacob grinned. "Lots of fun!" And then he went back in to the living room to get things set up. Half an hour or so later the pizza arrived and once it was all dished out they settled on to the couch to watch the movie. Jacob sat in the middle.

Jacob, no matter how many times he denied it, always went to sleep early. He managed to make it through most of 'A Bug's Life'. However ,around 9:00 when the credits were rolling, Helga looked over and smiled.

Jacob had curled up to Gerald and was sleeping now. Gerald looked down at the boy and smiled too, ruffling his hair ever so slightly. "He's a cute little guy."

"Well, he takes after his father." Helga said it almost automatically and then blushed.

Gerald smirked a bit and then laughed. "I was going to say that he must get it from you." This made Helga blush even more.

Helga shut off the movie and then carried Jacob up to bed with Gerald following behind. This was good. It was progress. Soon they could tell Jacob the truth, that his daddy was back from his long trip. So long as Gerald still wanted to be part of his life…Helga saw no problem finally telling her son the truth.


	8. Spending the Weekend

**A/N I've been a bit under the weather so I'm uploading this later than I would have liked, but enjoy!**

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**Six Years Ago**

Gerald sat on the couch in his living room, staring at the blank TV. His parents were out of town for the weekend and Timberly was staying with Jamie for a while, claiming 'home was too stressful'. That comment had made Gerald roll his eyes, but he hadn't said anything about it. It was nice to have the place to himself for a change.

His mind wasn't in the present though. He was still trying to piece together last night. All he knew for sure was that he had slept with Helga and that she had left before he had woken up-which had been around 2 or 3. He had managed to stumble out of Rhonda's home where some people were still in party mode and catch a cab back to his place where he'd slept off the rest of the morning and woken up in the early afternoon.

Gerald was still feeling hung over and confused. What had even driven him to sleep with her in the first place? Even though she and Arnold were over-and Arnold had dumped her- wasn't it still kind of wrong? Helga hadn't seemed to bent out of shape about though…she'd been willing. That was surprising, really. She didn't seem to think twice about it so soon after Arnold had ditched her.

For some reason that thought stuck Gerald the wrong way. Arnold _had_ ditched her. Helga had pined for him for years…and Gerald had seen the look on her face when she asked him out and he said yes. He had been there, well not there but standing a few feet away. She had been overjoyed. It was less than two months later though and he just…dumped her. For Lila. Gerald shook his head and sighed.

There was a knock on the door and Gerald groaned. Who the hell was bothering him? It was almost 8 in the evening and he didn't want any late-night company. He pulled himself up off the couch and opened up the door. Then he had to blink a couple times. It was Arnold, and he looked pissed.

Gerald didn't even invite him in, the blonde-haired boy just moved passed him and in to the apartment. Gerald closed the door and looked over at him. "Dude, what's your deal? Lila ditch you for Arnie?" Gerald was joking around, partly. Honestly part of Gerald felt that Arnold could use a taste of his own medicine.

It wasn't the fact that he broke up with Helga. It was the fact he'd done it so soon and he'd been such a jerk about it afterwards. He'd gone right to Lila- who seemed 'ever so glad' to be with him ever since Arnie moved back to his home town and she couldn't follow him.

"I can't believe you!" Arnold snapped suddenly and Gerald looked confused.

"Me? What the hell did I do?"

"You know exactly what you did! You slept with Helga!"

How did he find out? "You're crazy, who told you that?"

"Rhonda! She called me and told me that she saw Helga and you go in to a room together and Helga came out hours later."

Gerald rolled his eyes. "Why do you believe anything Rhonda says? You know she's just trying to cause trouble. Besides why on earth would I ever what to sleep with Pataki?"

"Maybe you're just-"

"And why do you even care if I did or not Arnold? You're the one that ditched her. Not the other way around."

Arnold narrowed his eyes again. "So you _did _sleep with her. So what if I dumped her? I'm still allowed to care about her."

"And she's allowed to sleep with whoever the hell she wants to. Now I'm still hung over and I'm not in the mood for this shit. So get out of my house." Gerald pointed to the door.

"Stay away from her Gerald." Arnold said, narrowing his eyes again before leaving.

After that day Gerald and Arnold started drifting apart. Gerald couldn't understand why Arnold was so bent out of shape over a one night stand. Arnold would never give him a straight answer either and Gerald eventually just gave up. To hell with it and him. If Arnold was going to act like that Gerald saw absolutely no point in continuing the friendship. That was sort of sad really. They had been best friends since they were in diapers.

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**Present Day**

Gerald turned on his side and smiled at Helga, watching her sleep. They hadn't slept together yet, and he was fine with that. It had been a couple months since that first night he'd come over and he was coming over more frequently now – usually on the weekends. They still hadn't told Jacob yet, but Helga said they would soon.

He found that he really did enjoy Helga and spending time with her. Sometimes he found himself wondering what it would be like if he had stayed in Hillwood, if she had told him the truth. Maybe they would even be married now. Gerald chuckled softly at that thought and pulled Helga closer.

He couldn't imagine marrying her back then, but seeing her now and how good she was with Jacob, well it wasn't so hard to picture. Helga mumbled softly and curled up closer to him as he started to fall asleep.

When Helga woke up the next morning Gerald was nowhere to be found. She frowned a bit and got out of bed, hearing some commotion downstairs. It was Sunday morning and she went through her mental check list of things to do today while she took a quick shower and changed.

She made her way downstairs and leaned against the kitchen entrance. Gerald had Jacob up on the counter and it smelled like they were making pancakes.

"Okay little man." Gerald was saying. "Pour them in now."

Jacob grinned and started to pour a bag of chocolate chips in to the batter. Gerald stopped him when it was halfway empty and that's when Jacob spotted Helga." Mommy!" He waved to her before peeking in to the batter bowl.

Helga laughed and moved over to them. "Morning sweetie. What's for breakfast?" She kissed his cheek and then looked over to Gerald.

"Pancakes!" Jacob nodded and then Gerald elaborated.

"My famous chocolate chip ones, of course with he customary scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast."

"Oh really? I had no idea you were such a good cook." Helga teased, sneaking a quick kiss on Gerald's cheek.

Gerald laughed and poured a ladle of batter in to the pan. "There's a lot about me you don't know." He winked and she smirked.

Helga looked back to Jacob and ruffled his hair gently. They would tell him soon…she had it all planned out and Helga was sure it would go well since Jacob already liked Gerald so much.


	9. Time to Tell

**A/N: Once again this is going up much later than I would have liked D: but I've been under the weather and helping move the office for work *fun fun*. Hopefully I can start writing more regularly again soon!**

* * *

**Six Years Ago**

"Lila…we can't keep doing this. I can't do this to Helga." Arnold sighed and looked over at her. They were laying on his bed after this latest encounter.

Lila shifted under the blanket and turned to look up at him, her long red hair slightly frazzled and hanging down past her shoulders. She moved an arm around his waist and offered him a smile. "Arnold, sweetheart, as long as she doesn't find out why should you care? Besides, you know I'm more fun."

"That's not the point…this is wrong…" Arnold turned on his side and held her closer.

Lila smirked and kissed his neck. "Then just break up with her."

Of course she was right. Arnold had only said yes to going out with Helga with the intention of the date going awful and him not having to see her like that again…but that's not what happened. It had been fun and he really enjoyed being with her. Still, Lila…they had been fooling around on and off, all throughout high school. Never actually a couple, but they hadn't fooled around when he did have a girlfriend.

"Maybe"

"There's no Maybe." Lila frowned, sitting up a bit. "Break up with her and then we can be together."

Arnold raised an eyebrow. "Together? Like…actually together?"

"Well why not? It's been this long…we might as well make it official right?"

Arnold couldn't help but wonder why the sudden change. Was it because he was with Helga? Or because Arnie had finally told Lila to 'back the hell off' and leave him alone? Arnold couldn't believe that his cousin had actually said that and honestly when Lila cried to him about it he hadn't believed her fully. Then Arnie called and told him what he had done, and told Arnold that he was glad to have finally said it.

* * *

**Present Day**

Arnold looked around the empty apartment building and sighed. All their stuffed had been shipped off to their new home in England. Honestly, Arnold didn't really want to move all the way across the country, but Lila had more job opportunities there and Arnold could write books wherever he was.

"Sweetheart?" Lila came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Ready to go? Our flight leaves in an hour."

Arnold had been thinking about this a lot, and he loved Lila –they had been engaged for a year now. They planned to get married in England when things got settled down…but there was unfinished business that he had to take care of first. "Lila, why don't you go on a head. I'll catch a different flight in a few days…there's just some things I need to finish up."

"But Arnold-"

"Please Lila." Arnold looked down at her and Lila nodded.

"Alright. I'll call you when I land…"

* * *

"So…Mr. J is…my dad?" Jacob looked at Helga confused. "But you said-"

"Sweetie I know what I said and I'm sorry that I lied to you." They were sitting on Jacob's bed. Gerald was standing in front of them and kneeled down so he was eye-level with Jacob. They had just finished dinner and it was Jacob's bedtime but tonight was the night they wanted to tell Jacob the truth.

Jacob looked at Gerald now, but his statement was directed at Helga. "Lying is bad."

"Yes it is." Helga agreed. "And I shouldn't have lied, but I was scared."

"Scared of what?"

"I…honestly, I don't even know." Helga kissed the side of his head and Gerald spoke up.

"Your mom didn't know if she would ever see me again buddy. She didn't want you to get your hopes up."

"But…why did you leave?"

"I had to, I didn't know about you though." Gerald offered him a smile. "But I know about you now and I'm not going anywhere. Come on, let's get you tucked in to bed okay? We can talk about it more tomorrow."

After Jacob was tucked in bed Helga and Gerald went back out in to the hallway. "That didn't go so bad."

Helga shook her head. "No…but I'm sure he'll have plenty more questions in the morning." She smiled a bit.

Gerald chuckled and kissed her forehead. "I'm sure he will." He looked down as his cellphone rang and frowned. Who was calling at this hour? He took out his phone and went wide-eyed a moment. He didn't want to answer it but, knew he had to.

He walked down the hall a bit. "Gerald here."

Helga frowned, what didn't he want her to hear? Gerald slipped in to her bedroom and closed the door. She took a few quiet steps forward to try and listen in.

"I don't think that's a good idea. It's been too long." There was a pause – presumably as Gerald listened to the other person. "You want to clear the air now? Why the sudden change of heart?" His voice almost sounded accusing. "You're the one who overreacted."

Helga listened, but was even more confused. Who was he talking to? An old flame? An old friend? An enemy? "Do whatever the hell you want Arnold. I'm not making any promises." He hung up and Helga quickly moved back to her spot.

Arnold?! Why was he talking to Arnold? Gerald had made it clear they were on bad terms and by the sound of the phone call they still were. Better yet, why hadn't Gerald wanted Helga to hear?

Gerald came back out and sighed, putting his phone away and went back to her, wrapping his arms around her. "Maybe it's time I tell you something."


	10. The Meeting

**A/N. Enjoy! I'll try to post a chapter once a week or once every other week (alternating with my new story I'm working on)**

* * *

"He...how did he even find out?" Helga frowned, looking up at Gerald. They were sitting back in the living room on the couch. Gerald had just finished explaining to her about his fight with Arnold all those years ago. "Why did he even care?"

Gerald sighed and shrugged. "I don't know why he cared so much…but Rhonda told him I guess. It just left us in a bad spot, you know? That phone call…told me that he'd be down this week and wants to meet. Wants to clear the air. I didn't tell him you were here though."

"Good, good. I don't want him knowing." Helga said. "At least not right now." It would be good to get an answer from him though. Just to have Arnold sit down with her and tell her the real reason he had left her and why he was so upset about her hook up with Gerald. That was it though. Helga had no interest in being with him –not anymore.

"Well I won't tell him anything you don't want me to." Gerald smiled at her and ran a hand through her hand. "Can't have him stealing you from me." He teased.

Helga laughed and curled up to him. "You don't have to worry a thing about that Gerald." She assured him.

* * *

**Wednesday Night**

Gerald mumbled to himself as he sat. Helga had told him to call Arnold back and meet with him because it would be a good idea to have everything in the open, and maybe Gerald could get some of her questions answered without Helga actually needed to come in contact with her old flame.

"Gerald." Gerald looked up to see Arnold, he hadn't changed much at all.

"Hi Arnold." He nodded and Arnold sat down. "It's been a while."

"Yeah…it has. I apologize for this being so spur of the moment, but we're moving…well Lila already left but I'm meeting her there after this week." Arnold explained, but Gerald didn't really care. He just wanted answers.

"So you wanted to clear the air, clear it." The waitress came over to take their drink orders and once she had left Arnold spoke up.

"That night…I shouldn't have reacted like that. You were both drunk and we weren't even together anymore."

"Maybe you just felt guilty."

"What do you-"

"Arnold. I was your best friend. I know full well that you were screwing Lila on the side."

Arnold hesitated a minute and then shook his head. "I was, but, she and I…we'd been fooling around for years-"

"That didn't give you an excuse to cheat on Helga."

"I know, I know. Lila kept insisting though. I don't know why."

"Maybe because she hated Helga and Helga hated her?" Gerald was annoyed at Arnold playing dumb. He knew full well what he did and why he did it.

"Yeah, maybe. In the end…I had to break up with Helga. I couldn't keep doing it behind her back."

"You shouldn't have even accepted her offer at all when she asked you!" Gerald snapped and Arnold looked surprised but the waitress came back to take their other orders. Gerald wasn't hungry though, he was ready to just walk out.

"Why are you so touchy?" Arnold asked when the lady was out of ear shot.

"Because she-" Okay he couldn't go saying that, who knows what that would do. "I'm not being touchy. I'm just pointing out what a jerk you were to her and then to me. You had no right to get on me like that about hooking up with her."

"I already said I didn't Gerald. I just still had feelings for her, but I was with Lila and-"

"And you would never ever cheat on Lila." Gerald rolled his eyes and stood up. "We're done here Arnold and if you know what's good for you- you'll leave tonight." Then Gerald walked out of the restaurant. He'd almost spilled everything, he couldn't do that. At least he had some answers for Helga though.


End file.
